BLACKPINK Jennie put at the forefront to receive criticism instead of the provocative series “The Idol”
Despite having little screen time, BLACKPINK Jennie is receiving all kinds of criticism surrounding the controversial drama “The Idol”.
Center of attention
“The Idol” has aroused keen public interest since before its release by announcing a casting lineup consisting of various top stars, such as The Weeknd and Troye Sivan. However, the center of attention was BLACKPINK Jennie, who decided to challenge acting for the first time.
Jennie’s debut role was unveiled when the first episode of “The Idol” premiered. She played Dyanne, a dancer and the best friend of the female lead Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp).
From the very first scene, Jennie already shocked everyone by showcasing a series of provocative dance moves with suggestive facial expressions. Known as an idol who has a huge influence on Asian fans and viewers, this unfamiliar image of Jennie was considered inappropriate and hard to accept.
Later on, Jennie was mentioned everywhere amid the harsh criticism against “The Idol” for its content that disparages women. The video clip of Jennie’s 19+ dance spread widely on social media, making hashtags #JENNIEActressDebut and #JennieOnTheIdolPremiere rise to the Twitter top trending.
The problem is that the producer of “The Idol” had falsely evaluated Jennie’s value and reputation so they only let her portray a dull character, who only dances and appears next to the female lead, without a specific story or detailed narrative.
Many fans are pointing out that it is The Weeknd who needs to be criticized the most. As a producer, he replaced Amy Seimetz with Sam Levinson in the middle of the drama production. That’s why the storyline got messed up.
From episode 1, “The Idol” delivers a mixture of emotions, with satire, comedy, and darkness. However, none of it blends together. It feels superficial, lacking focus, missing standout factors, and only trying to appear hot and dangerous.
As an actor, The Weeknd fails to impress with his character. Questionable styling, stiff acting with cheesy lines, he lacks any charisma, yet is easily approachable and attractive to the female lead character.
Is Jennie only a tool to attract viewers?
This would be the worst-case scenario for Jennie. “The Idol” receives many negative reviews, but it definitely generates much buzz, mostly consisting of Jennie’s fans and BLACKPINK fans in general.
Despite severe criticism, episode 1 of “The Idol” has been attracting 913,000 views globally. This is a huge achievement for a TV show. Unfortunately, this achievement doesn’t stem from the show’s quality but from the controversies and Jennie’s popularity.
The more controversial, the hotter films and dramas tend to get. Producers surely won’t waste the opportunity to fully use Jennie to attract viewers. The question is, how should they do it?
Jennie is one of the most globally influential and impactful idols. Not only that, but as an ace member of BLACKPINK, she understands what the life of a pop star is like better than anyone else. Jennie’s perspective is something the producers should pay attention to and make use of.
Source: K14.
